"Patent trolls don't create new technology and they don't create American jobs. They pad their pockets by buying patents on products they didn't create and then suing the innovators who did the hard work and created the product."

For a detailed report of the strengths and weaknesses of the bill, the Ars Technica report is well worth a read. But it's worth noting that the act will stir up controversy, not least because it would be the first time Congress had ever defined the term "software patent"—which it describes as a patent covering "any process that could be implemented in a computer regardless of whether a computer is specifically mentioned in the patent" .

Even if such issues don't ruffle too many feathers, the bill still faces a long and torturous road before it gets anywhere near being passed. But let's keep our fingers crossed, because the less time companies spend fussing about patent wars, the more time they spend innovating—and that's what we all really want. [EFF via Ars Technica]